Extraction of sesamin



Patented Apr. 19, 1949 PATENT, OFFICE A EXTRACTION or SESAMIN Allen L. Omohundro, Wilton, and Emil C. Fanto, Fairfield, Conn, and Irving Reich, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors 'to' McKesson & Robbins, Incorporated, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Maryland No Drawing. Original application July 20, 1945,

Serial No. 606,280. Dividedand this application February 7, 1947, Serial No. 727,280

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the extraction of sesamin concentrates from sesamin-bearing substances such as sesame oil and sesame seed. This application is a continuation-in-part of our ap plication Serial No. 550,308, filed August 19, 1944;. and a division of our application Serial No. 606,280, filed July 20, 1945.

Recent discoveries regarding the synergistic eifect of sesamin in enhancing the activity of pyrethrins in insecticides 'make a cheap, convenient method of separating sesamin from sesameoil very desirable.

Sesamin is a compound having a common nucleus composed of 2 fused dihydrofuran rings with a substituted pyrocathechin group attached symmetrically to each of one of the carbonatoms adjacent to the ether oxygen atoms; R and R representing O2CH2 (methylendioxyl).

We have devised a method for accomplishing this extraction which has the following ad.- vantages:

The process does not very appreciably affect the composition or the commercial value of the sesame oil. We extract 1 to 5% of sesamin concentr-ate, and the remaining 95 to 99% of the oil is practically unharmed.

It involves practically no consumption of raw materials. The oil and the extracting solvents are both recovered.

Our method consists in the extraction of the commercially available sesame oil with'acetone and water. The following example will illustrate our method of processing: One volume-of oil is extracted by stirring at 50-55 C. with two volumes of acetone which has been diluted with 35 to 55% by volume of water. The mixture separates into two layers. The upper oily layer is syphoned off. The lower acetone water layer having the sesamin in solution is freed from acetone and water by distillation, leaving a residual concentrate or extract which contains -40% sesamin depending on the sesamin content of the original r crushed seed is extracted or percolated with the acetone and water mixture, and the percolate distilled to drive off the acetone and leave behind the sesamin concentrate. The following example will illustrate our method.

The crushed seed is placed in an extractor, percolator or analogous apparatus, is moistened with acetone and tamped down. Then acetone containing 35-55% of water is poured at a temperature of -55 C. over the crushed seed in the ratio" of one gallon of diluted acetone for each 3 lbs; of seed. The percolate is distilled to drive off the acetone and water, to leave a sesamin concentrate.

As another feature of the invention covered in copending application Serial No. 606,280," the sesamin extract, as obtained from the process described above, is further purified and concentrated by treatment with a low boiling petroleum fraction. The petroleum distillate or cut used is desirably petroleum ether having a boiling range of 50-70 C. Although petroleum ether is highly desirable for the purpose, it has been found that in general, petroleum distillates of a specific gravity of about .700 to .800 at 20 C. are also suitable. In particular, naphtha, lighter kerosene fractions and those petroleum fractions in the hexane and heptane range can be used.

The sesamin concentrate, which is extracted from the sesamin oil by acetone and water, and which has its solvent acetone substantially removed, is partly liquid and oily. It has been found that the solid portion of this concentrate is mostly sesamin, and is practically insoluble in petroleum distillate, such as the petroleum ether described. The oily liquid portion of the concentrate contains much less sesamin, and is soluble in petroleum ether, so that the treatment with petroleum ether affords an effective method of separating and concentrating the solid material from the only material. After the sesamin concentrate has been treated with the petroleum distillate as described, the undissolved solid material is dried, and can be used in conjunction with pyrethrin to form a highly effective insecticide.

As a specific example of the process of the present invention, 100 pounds of sesamin concentrate made by extraction with acetone as described above, after being substantially freed from the acetone solvent, is mixed thoroughly with gallons of petroleum ether in a closed vessel equipped with a stirrer. After these substances have been thoroughly mixed through operation of the stirrer, the mixture is permitted to stand, so that the insoluble solid material settles out. The mixture is then filtered through a filtering system containing plates or chambers, where the solid mate ial mspluble in etroleum et e s collected and washed with petroleum ether. The solid material is then dried.

Besides its improved synergistic activity, the solid residue obtained by the process of the present invention represents a very desirable, economical form of sesamin for handling, shipping, storing, exporting and using with powders in powder sprayers.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited thereto but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1'

1. The method of extracting sesamin from sesamin oil or sesamin seed which includes dis; solving the sesamin out of the oil or seed by treat.- ing with a solution of acetone in 35 to 55% water.

2. The method of extracting sesamin from sesamin oil or sesamin seed, including treating said oil or seed with a solution of acetone in 35 to 55 Water to dissolve the sesamin therein in prefer e to h bul of th oi s sai s samin oil or seed.

he thed o extract n sesam n s samin i o e min sees as escrib d claim in h c said i pr eed is reated with a 91s. ion a tone in 35 to 5% ate at a t m era ture of 50 to 55 C. t

4. The method of extracting sesamin g m sesamin 0,1 or sa n eed, inc u ing treatin i o er se d w h a se u ien oi ac eee in 35, t 5 t r t0 dis olve the thermal W a ng t e ee ne wa e vli icn2 and co ing t e acetone- 5. The method of extracting sesamin from sesamin oil or sesamin seed, including treating said oil or seed with a solution of acetone in water t iiissplv ther in the sesamin in prei r o the bulk Qf the oils in said sesamin .oil or seed, permitting the sesamin acetone solution and the residue oil to separate into two layers and separating the sesamin acetone water solution layer iron; the residue o l ay 6. The method of extracting sesamin from sesamin oil or sesamin seed as described in claim 5, in which the acetone and water is removed from 1.1. sesamin acetone. solution by distillation.

7'. The method of extracting sesamin from sesamin oil or sesamin seed, as described in claim 5, inwhich the treatment of the sesamin oil or seed with the solution of the acetone and water (SHED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

erases an; s

me Date tr vr -v-w @TFIEB BEEEBENfiEfi Adriani, Chemical Abstracts, vol. 23, page 2054,

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